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NAGP demand engagement on possible GP-led scheme of abortion up to 12 weeks

The National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) has strongly objected to the assumption that the scheme of abortion up to 12 weeks in Ireland will be a GP-led service. The association has demanded that the Minister for Health engage with the representative body regarding his statement that termination of pregnancies will be a ‘GP led service’, claiming that its members are outraged that there has of yet been no consultation on the matter.

Although the NAGP expressed support for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s statement that there needs to be a respectful, informed debate, regarding a potential repeal of the 8th amendment of the Constitution, the association strongly objects to the assumptive nature of the Minister’s statement.

Dr Emmet Kerin, President of the NAGP, remarked: “I was alarmed to hear the Minister’s comments and presumption that the State would direct GPs to lead an abortion service without any engagement with our members to discuss the implications of this notion. The growing disconnect of the Minister and his Department of Health from the frontline service of General Practice is of genuine concern to me”.

“General Practitioners are dedicated to the health of their patients but feel that their work supporting the increasingly chaotic healthcare system receives no acknowledgment. For the Minister to suggest that our profession should lead out an abortion service without consultation with our member GPs is an affront to our profession and could pose yet another strain on the provision of general practice healthcare services”, he added.